Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
[object Object]
Error 912.Federal and state officials are investigating after a rare, federally protected wolf was found dead in northern Arizona earlier this month.
By Ben Bradley
Published: Nov. 15, 2024 at 2:24 PM PST|Updated: Nov. 15, 2024 at 2:32 PM PST
WILLIAMS, AZ (AZFamily) — Federal and state officials, along with conservation groups, are asking for the public’s help after a federally protected Mexican wolf was found dead near Flagstaff earlier this month.
A female Mexican wolf, known as Hope and tagged as “F2979,” was found dead on Nov. 7 near Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road, about six miles northeast of state Route 64 and Spring Valley Road in Williams.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is not disclosing how she died but says “the mortality was not related to agency management actions.”
Officials say she was the first to be documented outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA), located north of I-40 near Flagstaff, earlier this year. She was captured, equipped with a GPS collar and then released back into the wild in July.
“In every photo we saw of Hope, her collar was plainly visible. If she was shot, the shooter had to know she wasn’t a coyote,” said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project. “If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the non-human community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape.”
Hope left the MWEPA again and was seen traveling with another Mexican wolf named Mystery. In October, FWS began searching for the pair to bring them back and later found Hope dead. Officials don’t know what happened to the other Mexican wolf.
Hope was at the center of a legal battle last month, as conservation groups pleaded with the state to leave her and Mystery alone, instead of relocating them back to the designated area.
“The wolves themselves are showing us what they need and where they want to be. Why not let them go there,” Greta Anderson, deputy director of the Western Watersheds Project, told Arizona’s Family in October.
FWS says killing a Mexican wolf is a violation of state law and the Federal Endangered Species Act, which can result in up to a year in jail and criminal penalties of up to $50,000.
The agency is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to a conviction in the case. The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish are also offering rewards of up to $1,000, respectively.
In addition, conservation groups and others have pledged additional funds of up to $51,500 for a combined reward of $103,000.
“Hope embodied the dreams of so many here in Flagstaff, including the school children who named her, that wolves can return and restore natural balance to the Grand Canyon region,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Anyone with information about this senseless death should report it so our elk-filled forests can once again thrive with the wolves who belong here.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Office in Pinetop at (346) 254-0515. Tips can also be provided to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief at (800) 352-0700.
FWS says Mexican wolves were common in the Southwest until they were nearly eliminated from the wild in the 1970s “due to conflicts with livestock.”
After they were listed as endangered in 1976, a federal program was introduced to save them from extinction and in 1999, FWS released the first captive Mexican wolves into the MWEPA in Arizona and New Mexico.
According to Arizona Game and Fish, the state agency has been actively involved in reintroducing Mexican wolves to portions of their historical range for decades. Learn more about the program on the state’s website..
Exposing the Big Game 
I only wish that this subhuman could be caught and shot dead.
The sad part is I have yet to hear of anyone in the brotherhood of wolf killers turn anyone in for any kind of reward. I don’t think they are mentally capable of understanding the importance of other life on earth. Just their imbecilic activities.